A pressing issue in point of sale applications has always been the accurate and efficient identification of goods to be sold, and this issue has only become more important with the increase in self service operations and the increased use of automation in both employee assisted and self service operations. Many products are identified through the use of bar code labels or other indicia on or in their packaging, but the use of such indicia is not always convenient. Particularly in the case of produce items, the affixing of identification material interferes with the usability of the product. Today, many produce items sold in supermarkets have label stickers bearing identification codes. These codes are manually input into a terminal at the point of sale, and the stickers are generally removed before the produce is eaten. The affixing of the stickers incurs expense, and the need for their removal frequently annoys the customer and interferes with the customer's enjoyment of the produce. However, the alternatives to labeling each produce item with identifying information have proven more or less unsatisfactory. With the increasing proliferation of different varieties of produce, it is difficult to depend on checkout personnel to consistently and accurately identify each item efficiently, particularly with the increasing use of self checkout facilities. The use of menus and photographs allowing visual matching of items takes time and is not always accurate.
Additional obstacles to accurate identification of produce and other items also exist. Some product packaging may not be conducive to the application of easily readable bar codes, or customers intent on committing fraud may deliberately switch or cover labels or may misidentify products. Many other challenges may be encountered.